Rinat Gutman is an Orthodox Jew living in Jerusalem. She was bestowed with a musical gift, and has been developing it for the past eight years. Unlike countless women like herself, however, she actually performs her music in Israel. Now a rising star, she uses words and rhythm to convey her thoughts on everything from the state of western culture to Hasidic tales.
Richard Wagner, the famed German composer and nationalist, infamously remarked in 1850 that, "No Jew is capable of being an artist of the first rank." A man with a surprising number of Jewish friends and acquaintances, Wagner proceeded to explain that since Jews lacked that which was requisite for creating good and real art-a connection to the German spirit-Jewish artists were capable only of producing shallow and artificial art works, works created solely to achieve popularity and financial success; pieces of art, in other words, that were neither crafted according to the proper rules of aesthetics nor particularly genuine.
In the opening act of "The Importance of Being Earnest", the main wastrel Algernon states that "I don't play [the piano] accurately - anyone can play accurately - but I play with wonderful expression." The Stern College Dramatics Society (SCDS) production of Oscar Wilde's famously funny play is not perhaps the most accurate staging, but it is played with wonderful expression.
"Irena's Vow," which premiered on Sunday, March 29 at the Walter Kerr Theater, tells the true story of Irena Gut Opdyke. Irena was a Polish Catholic who was faced with the following dilemma during the Holocaust: should she stand by passively as Jews were sent to their deaths, or should she try, as much as humanly possible, to ensure their survival? "Irena's Vow" tells the story of a woman who opted for the latter, and in the process became a heroine.
Yeshiva University Dramatics Society (YCDS) performed Rick Abbot's "Play On!" from March 28th to April 2nd, marking their seventh production directed by Lin Snider. On the heels of "Newsies", their wildly successful staging last semester, this performance proved to be supremely well cast and altogether entertaining.